Satellite testbed for evaluating cryogenic-liquid behavior in microgravity

Abstract

Provided is a testbed for conducting an experiment on a substance in a cryogenic liquid state in a microgravity environment. The testbed includes a frame with rectangular nominal dimensions, and a source section including a supply of the substance to be evaluated in the cryogenic liquid state. An experiment section includes an experiment vessel in fluid communication with the storage section to receive the substance from the storage section and condense the substance into the cryogenic liquid state. A sensor is adapted to sense a property of the substance in the cryogenic liquid state in the experiment vessel as part of the experiment. A bus section includes a controller configured to control delivery of the substance from the storage section to the experiment vessel, and receive property data indicative of the property sensed by the sensor for subsequent evaluation on Earth.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A testbed for conducting an experiment in a microgravity environment on a substance in a cryogenic liquid state, the testbed comprising:
 a frame having a rectangular shape and comprising a source section, an experiment section and a bus section; 
 the source section comprising a supply of the substance to be evaluated in the cryogenic liquid state; 
 the experiment section comprising an experiment vessel in fluid communication with the source section to receive the substance from the source section and condense the substance into the cryogenic liquid state; 
 a sensor adapted to sense a property of the substance in the cryogenic liquid state in the experiment vessel as part of the experiment; and 
 the bus section comprising a controller configured to control delivery of the substance from the storage section to the experiment vessel, and to receive property data indicative of the property sensed by the sensor for subsequent evaluation on Earth. 
 
     
     
       2. The testbed of  claim 1 , wherein nominal dimensions of the frame are no greater than: 100 mm wide, 100 mm high, and 340.5 mm long. 
     
     
       3. The testbed of  claim 1 , wherein the source section is isolated from the experiment section. 
     
     
       4. The testbed of  claim 1  further comprising a sun shield coupled to the frame at a location to be deployed once the testbed is placed in Earth orbit to shield the experiment section from solar infrared radiation. 
     
     
       5. The testbed of  claim 4 , wherein the sun shield is coupled to the frame at a location adjacent to a first terminal end of the frame along a longitudinal axis, opposite a second terminal end of the frame adjacent the experiment vessel. 
     
     
       6. The testbed of  claim 5 , wherein the sun shield comprises a plurality of spring-biased panels that are deployed from a stowed arrangement adjacent to the frame to a deployed arrangement in which the spring-biased panels project outwardly, away from the frame. 
     
     
       7. The testbed of  claim 1  further comprising an Earth shield coupled to the frame adjacent to the experiment vessel to at least partially shield the experiment vessel from Earth-sourced infrared radiation. 
     
     
       8. The testbed of  claim 7 , wherein the Earth shield is approximately perpendicular to the frame when the Earth shield is fully deployed. 
     
     
       9. The testbed of  claim 1  further comprising a camera arranged to capture an image of the cryogenic liquid within the experiment vessel, wherein the camera is operatively connected to transmit data indicative of the image to the controller. 
     
     
       10. The testbed of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is adapted to sense a temperature of the cryogenic liquid in the experiment vessel and/or a level of the cryogenic liquid in the experiment vessel. 
     
     
       11. The testbed of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a sun shield coupled to the frame at a location adjacent to a first terminal end of the frame along a longitudinal axis to be deployed once the testbed is placed in Earth orbit to shield the experiment section from Sun-sourced infrared radiation; 
 an Earth shield coupled to the frame adjacent to a second terminal end of the frame and the experiment vessel, wherein the controller is further configured to control an attitude of the testbed in Earth orbit to maintain a position of the sun shield between the Sun and the experiment vessel.